And That’s Why You Don’t Leave Newcastle!

Who would have thought it? Who would have thought that, despite losing arguably their three best players in Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Andy Carroll (not to mention Jose Enrique!), that Newcastle United would be sitting in sixth place at this point in the season, ahead of every single "big" club that the aforementioned players ran off to? Credit to those who kept the faith, but even I was fretting once the players started leaving town.

But that’s the joy of being a football fan, and, though the last few years have been torrid for us Geordies, today’s game against Liverpool was a sign that things have changed. This is a big club, despite what the departed players may think, and, despite a relatively small transfer allowance, Alan Pardew has brought us right back up to where we belong.

It’s a shame that the likes of Nolan and Carroll had to miss out on this, as they were fan favourites during their time at Newcastle, but it’s their own fault. It should be pretty clear to Carroll now that no amount of money will ever replace the love he got playing in front of the St. James’ Park crowd, as it’s pretty obvious that playing for Liverpool has affected his ability to score goals. He was never a greatly talented player, but his style worked whilst he was in Newcastle. That’s all gone now.

As for his teammate Jose Enrique, I think I speak for every Newcastle fan worldwide in saying that seeing him standing between the posts in place of Pepe Reina was arguably the funniest moment of the Premier League season so far. Can you remember exactly what Enrique said as he left Newcastle back in 2011? I think it was something about never finishing in the top six again, right? Oh, the irony.

I’ve got no idea what Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton were thinking in leaving for a Championship club and a soon-to-be Championship club, though. At least for Carroll and Enrique, Liverpool are actually considered to be a big club, but not QPR and West Ham. It’s a pretty pointless exercise to list the reasons why they’d have been better off staying on Tyneside, so I’ll leave you with one word: Europe.

So, there’s a warning to any current Newcastle players who are considering making moves to “bigger” clubs in the summer. Please remember we’re actually level on points with Chelsea and not too far away from the Champions League, so, despite the rumours, you’re really just better off staying here, at this great club, because the fans love you and the future is looking very bright indeed.